Open Financial Technologies, a fintech startup operating a neo-bank, has announced it will be shifting its focus on wealth management and lending despite COVID-19 pandemic
In an interview with ET Tech, Anish Achuthan, Open’s Founder and CEO, said that the neobanking platform is currently in close works with banks to develop lending products.
“Wealth management and lending are a core focus for the year. We are working with banks to create lending products. We have a lot of data on small enterprises to create lending products. Unlike consumer lending, every business behaves differently,” he told ET Tech. “The pandemic could impact the adoption of new products as businesses will focus on fundamentals.”
Founded in 2017, Open Financial Technologies serves as business banking service that integrates necessary business services into a single platform, including banking, invoicing, and automated bookkeeping. Using the said platform, businesses can enjoy automated tax filing, bank transfers, and cash and cheque payments. The company names itself to be Asia’s first neobanking platform for SMEs and startups and is said to be currently serving over 425,000+ SMEs.
“We are working with our banking partners to bring tailored lending products for small businesses to meet their working capital needs,” Achuthan assured. “We need to support small business as the economy is weak.”
According to ET Tech, Open is currently set to launch an app store that features productivity tools designed for businesses, including payroll and tax filing. To date, the store is said to have a total of 10 apps and is targeted to open in the coming months.
“We have a separate team for connected commerce. The next phase is to expose developers to build more apps. It leads to more engagement and more monetisation. So, they don’t have to move away from the dashboard. These hooks add value,” Achuthan added.
